Inserm chair – Development of nano-imaging methods for complex patho-physiological processes monitoring

The Inserm chair recruitments are Tenure Tracks intended for researchers with strong potential to manage and lead research teams and participate in national, European or international projects.

Scientific project: Development of nano-imaging methods for complex patho-physiological processes monitoring
Understanding many complex diseases and designing rational treatments requires research on multiple scales, ranging from molecular events to morphological and functional behaviour at the organ level. The dynamics and spatial organization of signalling pathways can be essential in determining normal or pathological responses in cells and tissues.
This project aims to provide a versatile toolkit for precision imaging at the nanometre scale and with sub-second resolution, compatible with complex systems. This approach will be applied in vitro to study the spatiotemporal organization of fundamental biological functions (division, transcription, trafficking, etc.) in single-celled organisms in various contexts, providing a new test for relevant biomedical questions, such as stress response or antibiotic resistance.

**Summary of the teaching project: **
The junior professor is expected to teach and train students at École Polytechnique/Institut Polytechnique de Paris, either at the master’s level or at the bachelor’s level and in the École Polytechnique engineering program.
He/she expected to teach biology, biomedical engineering, biophotonics or biophysics for a minimum of 42 hours per year, with the possibility of teaching up to 64 hours per year for an additional salary. He/she will also benefit from an environment conducive to innovation, with the local Drahi-X innovation centre and local initiatives aimed at supporting technology transfer.

**Strategy of the host institution: **
The French National Institute for Health and Medical Research (Inserm) is the primary public institution dedicated to biomedical and health research. Inserm conducts research with a focus on translating research findings into clinical and therapeutic applications that address current public health challenges. Partners include universities, hospitals, and international research organizations.
École Polytechnique is a leading French institute within the Institut Polytechnique de Paris and part of the dynamic Saclay scientific hub, combining high-level research, teaching, and innovation at the cutting edge of science and technology. The research conducted covers all modern scientific fields, with the aim of providing answers to today’s major societal challenges. Among these fields, the theme of “Biology-Health” has seen significant development in recent years, with the creation of a highly active interdisciplinary center called “Engineering for Health (E4H)”. Supported by the ExcellenceS (France2030) “STEP2” project, the center will be joined by several junior professors. The researcher recruited in this program will strengthen the Laboratory for Optics and Biosciences, a leading laboratory in the “Biology-Health” theme at the Institut Polytechnique de Paris and participate in this major movement for the Life Sciences.

**Strategy of the host laboratory: **
The junior professor will join the Laboratory for Optics and Biosciences (LOB, https://lob.ip-paris.fr/en), a joint Inserm-CNRS Physics-École Polytechnique unit. The LOB recently received a very positive evaluation from HCERES and Inserm, and the unit has been renewed in January 2026. The LOB is part of a dynamic environment within the interdisciplinary Engineering for Health (E4H) centre, which brings together fundamental, technological, and computational activities for health sciences in the laboratories and facilities of Institut Polytechnique de Paris. The junior professor will strengthen the “Quantitative Nanoimaging of Biological Systems – Organization and Dynamics” team, https://lob.ip-paris.fr/en/research/nanoimaging-cell-dynamics-and-quantitative-biology, which focuses on cell signalling processes and develops original techniques based on tracking single molecules using fluorescent nanoparticles or super-resolution.